14508/09 ADD 1 PL/vk 1 DG G COUNCIL OF THE ... - Europa

Greece, finally, reports that under the law of 2008 a quota in favour of female candidates at the
national elections was established. This means that at last one-third of all candidates on the electoral
lists of the political parties, coalitions of parties or independent candidates throughout the country
must be women otherwise the specific lists will not be valid and will be banned from the national
elections. In some MS attempts to introduce legal electoral gender quotas have been resisted (SK,
HU).
Corporate sector
Some MS report that while the representation of women in politics is quite satisfactory, in all other
areas, public and private, participation is very low. In the Netherlands, for example, over 50
organisations, in the public as well as the private sector, have voluntarily signed up to a charter
called Talent to the Top. By joining the charter, organisations commit themselves to developing or
continuing to pursue a strategy for the appointment and through-flow of women in management
positions.
Sweden reports having gender-balanced elected assemblies, ranging from national to local, as well
as gender-balanced boards in state-owned companies, but lower female representation on the boards
of private companies. In order to achieve gender balance on the boards of companies, a national
board chair programme for women has been initiated by the Government. This program is intended
to spread good examples through networking activities, mentoring and training.
In Finland, state-owned companies or state associate companies are required to increase the number
of women to 40 %, a goal which has been reached. When it comes to private companies, a new
corporate government code published in 2008 states that there should be women and men on all
company boards. However, the development of the proportion of women' on the boards of private
companies has been modest. Other MS report on higher female representation in management
positions than in elected bodies (LT). Some MS provide little information on the issue of women
and men in decision-making and report on few activities (BG, RO, CZ).
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